azraelle

'Twould make a nice, and introspective, reality TV or dating TV show, but I don't suppose THAT's likely to happen anytime soon.

MANLY

femminine

At a Christmas party at the (educational) computer lab where I work, I finally allowed myself to get roped into learning how to play a "bang. bang, shoot 'em up" (as my dad would have put it) networked video game called Battlefield 1942, I think. It was fun, and gave me confidence to try other games (Roller Coaster Tycoon, for one), all by myself!! Who knows where this might lead??

If you would, please, kindly clarify your statement.

I thought it was pretty clear, but...

Jeff Foxworthy aside, there is a reason why his humour about rednecks is, in fact, humorous--it rings true in more cases than not, even in the eyes of actual rednecks.

Believe it or not, there are actually some otherwise normal lower, lower middle, and middle-class Americans who don't find it an admirable ambition to be known as a redneck!

That said, I don't think you have any of the negative types of redneck behavior that I mentioned, genebujold, neither did I think it of Jimmy Carter, who chose to say on national television as he was running for office "Basically I'm a redneck". Even though I detested his naivete in how simple the world's problems should be able to be solved; Interestingly enough, Dr. Shoe has very similar attitudes--and I don't personally detest him. Since we only live ~110 miles from each other, I would find it an event to look forward to if I was to actually meet and discuss it with you in person. But don't feel pressured--the internet has a way of making conversations safe, and meeting face to face is anything but safe, to me at least.

The reason I pointed out the negative racist or homophobic behaviors out was to show the world community who aren't familiar with the term "redneck" that it actually isn't necessarily a complimentary term or epithet, but that it has negative connotations as well, to many people. And to point out why. Here's even a few more negative redneck-associated behaviors: drunken, wife-beating, inbred. And if you find it hard to believe, when was the last time you heard of a black man (or for that matter an AmerIndian, Oriental, or any other race other than Caucasian, or a woman, for that matter) referred to as a "redneck"?

However, there are reasons for her popularity, and don't forget that her debut album was released in 1997 (or was it 98?) so she's been delivering what "the people" want for over 6 years now.

As I recall, a Brit band in the 60's were accused of producing "same-o, same-o pop tripe" and they were quoted as saying something along the lines of "we write and sing what the fans obviously want". Who? Hermin's Hermits.

I for one happen to like what few songs I have heard Britney sing, and not because of the way she looks; Way back in Nov, 1998, while driving truck, and having delivered a load to a Best Buy in Idaho, they were playing a demo music video of about 6 different, and unidentified artists in the store, one of which was Britney singing her debut song, at the age of 17, I later found out. I liked the song being played, before I looked up to see her "writhing" on the screen! I then asked every sales person in the store who she was, and nobody knew, nor did they have her first album--it didn't come out until late December.

I do think that Christina Aguilera is better looking, has a better voice (there were some critics that were comparing her vocal range to that of Barbara Streisand back when Christina's first album came out), and definitely has more fashion presence (sorta like Cher's!), and J-Lo, and Hillary Duff have more singing AND acting talent. But give the lady a break. We all do dumb things from time to time--we just don't have the mis-fortune to have the world's papparazzi there to photograph it when we do!!

Similarly related terms: hick, hayseed, yokel, hokie, backwoods, etc.

...Knights in white sheets, Kluckers, Po' White Trash, homophobes....

(Not lumping you into those particular subcategories of rednecks, genebujold, but the classification exists in a lot of people who do, and do not, identify themselves with "redneck")

One, and only thought, which I discovered was brought up earlier than me by Laurie: "Pam" might have been able to get his gf to have seen his side of things by directing her to this (or Jenny's) site, except for one truly egregious mistake on his part: How can he possibly expect to have any credulity as a (masculine, virile, worth-knowing) male when he signs his name as "Pam"? Not that I am claiming virtuosity in this regard, but in my case, at least from my viewpoint, "Azraelle" doesn't sound or look any more feminine than my parents' choice for my given first name of "Alma", which I have sincerely detested for at least 41 of my 51 years. It has only been out of respect for them, that I haven't changed it legally. I assume that your given name isn't "Sue" or some such equally femmie name as "Pam"?

I have always swooned over the look of narrow chunky heels, especially boots, under a pair of well-fitting pants, especially on women. If the spike is shaped right, and blends well with the overall design of the boot (or shoe), rather than just "stuck on" because a spike is "expected" (see for example most fetish boots/shoes--yech, gag me with a spoon!), then spikes are OK. That said, I wear whatever I can get in my size, since most people don't notice or care, if you aren't blatently obvious about it, and if you have sufficiently long pants to wear, which I do, since discovering alloy.com a couple of years ago.

Its easier for me to wash the windshield at a gas (petrol) station in heeled boots--I can reach all the way to the other side without having to walk around to the other side. I have also ridden my bicycle the 1-1/2 mile to school in 4" heeled boots. Actually quite comfortable.

same for me too, jinx.

AZRAELLE, AZRAEL...

At the time of my divorce (1998) I felt like the Hollies' song King Midas in Reverse e.g. everything associated with me turns to shit. Azrael is the Semite name for Angel of Death, which seemed related, somehow. I signed up with my first ISP (Earthlink) about the same time via 800 number access (rural Nevada didn't have internet access until ~2000) and "azrael" was already taken. Since I felt kind of "femmy" and P/O'd at the world generally, I signed up as the feminine version, namely "azraelle". Azrael was also the name of Gargomel's evil cat, on the Smurfs cartoon series, by the way.

I appreciate the slight censorship that goes on with regard to photos and "conversations" that get out of hand. I would long ago have volunteered as a moderator but it seemed that eveyone had things well in hand. The offer is still open, though.

Unfortunately they are only availabel in size 11. And yes I have noticed this dearth. I've almost given up my heel fetish because of it.

I think they ought to sentence Saddam to a life sentence of community service in Kurdish Iraq--such as serving as a human urinal--with the only stipulation being that they can't kill him. THAT would be justice. Anything else is just a farce.

Although the temptation to carry weapons in situations like this might be strong, be very careful. The law states that you can defend yourself only with less force or force equal to that used by the offender. Excessive force is dangerous and can result with the victim being arrested along with the offender. The victim can get into a lot of legal trouble shooting an unarmed offender. It's possible where the victim could get more jail time than the offender. Also, there are cases where the offender ended up suing the victim and winning monetary damages.

If you choose to carry a weapon (gun, knife, chemical sprays, etc.), follow all the applicable laws for your jurisdiction. You also must know what the law states about under what circumstances you can use the weapon.

And for all of you gun owners, please obtain training to learn how to use your weapon.

A certain amount of giving the "benefit of doubt" to the armed defender (with a concealed weapons permit) is assumed in states that have adopted "shall issue" concealed carry laws in the last 10 years. Nevada is one of those states that have passed a "shall issue" law, although they require considerably more training before issuance than many other states. That said, statistics are showing that those who have been issued permits are more cautious, not less, when it comes down to deciding to use said weapon to defend one's (or a neighbor's) person.

From "The Last Samurai" (more or less): "For $500 a month, I'll kill anyone you want, Colonel, but if you give me the chance, I'll kill you for free!"

Looks like something Lucille Ball wore in her "I Love Lucy" comedy series in the late '50's. Never had much use for her.

In the UK a "rubber" is exclusively an innocent eraser, and a condom is alternatively called "Protection" or a "French letter"!

Used ones (in the USA) are called "Coney Island Whitefish" I believe (also a slang term for a loathsome guy). (see the Joan Jett song title of the same name, and listen to the lyrics)

First of all, I do not want to offend anyone's sensibilities here, gay or straight. But an idea that has been floating around in my head for several years now really ought to be brought to the light of day, at least once. The vast majority of the women of the world have no desire or use for "anal intercourse". If a guy chooses to emulate a woman's dress or mannerisms, either partially or completely, why does it automatically follow in the majority of people's minds that HE should want anal intercourse??

Well Gene, you see we are supposed to be out plowing the field and you can’t do that in heels (get off that horse and behind the plow).

Interesting, but I'd have to disagree rather strongly (I know this is off topic, but since you brought it up...).

Especially easy to do in spike heels as they sink rather easily into the freshly plowed soil that you're walking behind. Of course you WOULD have to be somewhat careful not to sprain an ankle on the occasional rock or clod! But spending all day in a pair of spike heel boots wouldn't be all that uncomfortable, because your 5" heels would really be acting like 1-1/2"-2" heels most of the time. Plus the ground that they momentarily sink into would tend to support the foot, and limit the side-to-side movement, producing quite possibly a more stable boot than low heeled boots under similar conditions. Think about it!

I did find one store that sells some rather interesting clothing for men... The clothing is, in today's "accepted" fashion sense, more feminine. Yet the styles are pitched as being very masculine, and the clothing itself was certainly worn only by men in earlier times

http://www.internationalmale.com/dept.asp?dept%5Fid=10050

The only problem is (and this really gets my goat) is that they market it under the "Novelty" section!

Another interesting site is http://www.bodysuit.com/mensbodysuit1.html

But don't you Americans fly around by plane to see each other, a bit like us catching the bus?

Tis a matter of money, old chap. Even taking the bus to go cross the continent (WHAT A HORRIBLE THOUGHT!) would cost at least $100 one way. If you book six months in advance, air travel between MAJOR cities is usually less expensive, but not by much. An acquaintance told me she flew to London and back over Thanksgiving week, from LA for ~$250, booked last February through a special deal she heard about, but the commuter faire from St. George, to Salt Lake City, thence to LA was another $195!

It would be quite literally cheaper to fly to London from NYC (or LA) than to fly to NYC or LA from someplace inside America!

Firefox, bpalmatv, et al: I think I did this once quite a while ago, I don't remamber where or when. If my name comes up, I will gladly remove the offending hotlink, wherever it is, if it is still there. Regarding viewing images on this board--I regularly use IE5.0, 6.0 (at work/school) and Mozilla (both places), and Safari on Macs at School. No problems. At home I use Zone Alarm Pro as a firewall, and Panda AV. I agree, Macaffee av is junk. So is Norton and, as far as I am concerned, so is PC-Cillin. None of them detected, much less removed the virii and wormz that recently infected my OS to the point that it slowed down reminiscent of trying to run Win 3.1 on a 286. Finally I went to the internet, via google, to find the 10 most respected av programs world wide, then I downloaded the trial versions of each. Panda was the fourth try, Kaspersky would have been 5th, and grisoft no. 6, so I can't naysay those. I had been running PC-Cillin, so I knew that wouldn't work; I had used MacAffee in the past--their demo removed some virii, but wouldn't touch a persistant system virus; Norton just crashed my system (twice) when it tried to install, and f-prot simply said everything was A-OK! I had been having some problems viewing the pix when I was running IE6, and PC-Cillin or MacAffee, I don't remember which, and no firewall, before I had to reformat my HDD in August. Sorry to digerss. The point is it may be the brand of av, firewall, or version of IE that you are using.

Bert, Firefox, DITTO.

Ahem. Allow me to nominate Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Lucy Liu.